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Annie Sloan was born in Australia, but her family moved to Great Britain in her youth and she graduated from university with a degree in design and fine art. In fact, after graduation she painted large murals in the homes of the wealthy and developed her own design company.
In 1990 she invented a way to make a commercial paint where the colors could be blended without them turning dirty looking and uninspiring. With artist’s paints they are easily mixed with the result being vibrant colors that seem alive, but that is not always the case.
She named her new paint, “Chalk Paint” because of its matt finish that took on a very velvety look. The colors were much easier to mix into an array of spectacular blends and they have since become a world-wide phenomenon. The Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Colors are available on just about every continent all over the world.
The other noted quality of the paint is that it can be applied to just about anything without having to sand or prepare the surface very much. While the surface should be cleaned, there is not much more preparation that is needed to create a well done, polished looking piece of refinished furniture.
Furniture is not the only thing that the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint Colors are meant for, as the paint goes well on walls, ceilings fireplaces and a great number of indoor fixtures that are permanent as well.
See Also : Chalk Paint Colors For Furniture Pieces
A brilliant stroke of genius was initiated by Annie when she began to authorize individual proprietors to set up their own Annie Sloan stores, and they are called “Stockists” as they stock the Annie Sloan paint and supplies.
The requirements for this position is rather selective in that the person must have shown competence and a zest for decorating and the ability to learn about colors and their applications. The stockists also give workshops on how to apply the different techniques that have been developed by Annie Sloan over her successful career as a fine artist and a successful interior designer.
The paint itself goes on very easily, over an undercoat, and dries very quickly. In this respect it allows further coats to be added, as many as are needed, and it also allows for the implementation of several effects, including distressed techniques and smooth matt finishes.
Success story after success story follows after one lady in Des Moines, Iowa who had heard of Annie Sloan, but couldn’t find a stockist anywhere in the state of Iowa, so she called Annie Sloan up on the telephone, clear to England. After some conversation, it was suggested to the lady that she become her own stockist and take the state of Iowa by storm, and that is exactly what she did.
There she established an Annie Sloan store that has been successful to the max, as workshops are given and the entire area has given itself over the the Annie Sloan brand of redecorating and painting, making everything new again.
